Category: Kids Spaces

How to Design a Comforting Space for Your Children

by Mom by Design

Not sure if any of you can relate to this, but my kids are BIG creatures of habit. Whenever I would bring up the idea of “moving” to them, I was met with hard passes left and right. They love their home and what they’re used to, especially since we’ve lived in the same house ever since we had our first baby and that’s all they’ve ever known. So when we had the opportunity to move “temporarily” but still rent our house with the promise of going back to it in 2-3 years, that seemed to be the only way I was ever going to get my girls to try something new.

A young child sitting on a pink bed, reading a book, with a white nightstand and lamp nearby in a well-lit bedroom. Colorful decoration is visible on the bunk bed above.

That being said, I never want my kids to feel unsafe or uncomfortable in their home- so I got right to work designing spaces they would love and immediately feel comfortable in when we moved to the new house. My two youngest ended up sharing a room in the new house, and even though they sometimes say they miss their old rooms where they got privacy, they’ve actually been doing amazingly well living together, and I think the change has even brought them closer together.

Inspiration

In planning out their room, I asked the girls’ input on what they wanted their new room to look like. This was the picture they both loved and agreed upon, so I took it and ran. I think the actual room turned out pretty darn close to the inspiration!

A cozy children's bedroom featuring a lofted bed with bright pillows and a colorful blanket, alongside a lower bed with a pink covering. A rug with colorful stripes lies on the wooden floor, and light curtains frame a window, adding warmth to the space.

Finished Product

A cozy children's bedroom featuring a white bed with pink bedding, a bedside table with a lamp, and a potted plant. A colorful garland is hung above the bed.

Sources

A stylish children's room layout featuring a bunk bed, light pink bedding, decorative pillows, storage dresser, and a dollhouse bookshelf. The design incorporates soft colors and cozy elements for a playful yet comfortable ambiance.

Logan quilt / Logan Sheets / Norah quilt / Norah Sheets / House throw pillow / Dresser / Checkered Throw Pillow / Doll house / Roman Shade / Bunk Beds / Paint Color

The Details

Most of the decor in this room was brought over from our other house so it feels familiar and comforting. We painted the walls “Proposal” by Benjamin Moore and it’s a very pretty, girly pink. All the bedrooms got new wall-to-wall carpeting with extra thick padding so it feels great to walk on, play on, and lay on. I didn’t want to add an area rug in here and risk damaging the new rug and rug pad so it’s just the carpeting for now.

The beds are the same ones they had at home, just in their “bunked” form so that felt familiar too. And all of our bedrooms got new white blackout roman shades from Home Depot that have been perfect.

A children's bedroom decor featuring a white dresser with six drawers, a decorative mirror, and a unicorn wall mount above a pink wall. A plant and framed photos are displayed on the dresser, along with decorative artwork that says 'Hello Beautiful' and 'Boo to You'. A cozy blanket is draped over a wooden ladder by the dresser.

Bedding

I have become a loyal shopper of Crate and Kids for all my kids bedding. In almost every kids space I have designed, I use Crate and Kids bedding. It’s great quality, holds up, and they always have the cutest designs in the softest materials. My youngest is in a big “cheetah” phase in her life. Everything she picks out is cheetah. You should see her wardrobe. So this adorable cheetah quilt was a no-brainer when picking out her bedding for the new house. She loves it and got right to work naming every cheetah on the blanket.

Close-up view of a colorful quilt featuring whimsical animal designs, including leopards, atop a neatly made bed with decorative pillows, against a soft pink wall.
A cozy child's bedroom corner featuring a white dresser, a mirror, a green side table with a dollhouse and books, a piggy bank, and a potted plant.

Kids rooms are definitely one of my FAVORITE rooms to design. I love thinking through how they will use the space and how to make it inspiring, creative, and whimsical. The girls are loving this room and play in here every day, even though they have a designated playroom in this house as well. It’s just comfortable, light and airy and has been just what they needed during this big transition of moving.

A young girl sitting on a bed in a bright and cozy bedroom, reading a book. The room features light pink bedding, a cozy throw, and decorative string lights above the bed. A bedside table with a lamp and a plant is visible next to her.

Riley’s Room

by Mom by Design

Hey everybody!! It’s only been…..I don’t know- a year (???) since I wrote on here. I’m finally dusting off this old blog to show you some of the things we’ve been working on and some of the things I’ve been dreaming about. Today, I’m bringing you Riley’s room in our new house. We’ve been living here for 3 months now and I only just got around to photographing it last week.

Here’s a peek of the room before we moved in.

Riley’s Room Before

Before photograph of a room intended for a child's use, featuring green walls with some areas of unpainted drywall and a closet with no door.

This room was used as a nursery by the previous owners and is slightly smaller than Riley’s room at our other house. Having the girls love their spaces was incredibly important to me in moving to a new home. I always want them to feel safe and happy and inspired in their rooms. Riley also loves to “tinker” (build with Legos, draw, make things, paint, crochet, etc), so I knew she would really miss her old built-in desk from our other house. Getting her a new one was a top priority once we moved in.

Riley’s Room Sources

Collage featuring design elements for Riley's room with a beige upholstered bed, pink and white bedding, a wooden desk, a white chair, various pillows, a dresser, and a floor lamp, all set against a textured background.

Desk Chair / Upholstered Bed / Sheets / Roman Shade / Dresser (similar) / Wallpaper / Quilt (similar) / Floor Lamp / Desk

Riley’s Room After

A cozy bedroom with a bed, a small desk with a white chair, and a wall decorated with striped wallpaper and a colorful garland.

We painted her walls Farrow and Ball “Light Blue” and basically color-drenched the room except for the ceiling. The walls, trim, doors, and inside her closet are all that awesome blue/green color. To break up the color and create a focal point, we used this wallpaper on the wall with her headboard. We got her a new dresser (which I wouldn’t actually recommend- so I linked a similar one above), a new desk (I HIGHLY recommend this desk from Target- so sturdy, solid, and comes nearly fully assembled!) and that was about it. We are still deciding what to do for her closet doors- either a curtain or an accordion door of some sort- it’s just an odd width so it would need to be custom.

Cozy bedroom featuring a striped wall design with pastel colors, a bed with a quilt, and decorative pillows. A framed 'Flower Market' poster is above the bed, and a nightstand holds a lamp and colorful decor.
A cozy bedroom corner featuring a dresser, a bulletin board with holiday decor, and a small decorated Christmas tree, all set against soft green walls.

She is quite happy in here and spends a good deal of time working on her homework or her own little projects at that desk. She even decorated it all for Christmas with some garland and her little tree she’s had forever. It’s a great room for her and definitely a space a pre-teen girl can grow into and be proud of host friends.

A girl's room featuring a light wood desk with a white rolling chair, a colorful corkboard, and decorative wall art. The walls are painted in alternating stripes of beige and cream, and a bed with a light quilt is visible in the corner.

Small, Simple, Scandinavian Nursery Reveal

by Mom by Design
nursery reveal

I say this every time I finish a room in our house, but this nursery really might be my favorite room in the house. This former hot tub/sauna room from when we moved in, which transformed into the girls’ playroom, has now been given the ultimate face lift and has become what it was always meant to be: a stunningly simple baby girl’s nursery.

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Baby Girl Nursery Plan

by Mom by Design
Claire Krista

Hi friends! It’s that time again! Time to start planning out Baby H’s nursery! I can’t believe we’re over halfway there already! If you’ve been following along with my Instagram stories lately, you probably know that in addition to planning for baby #3, we’ve also been house hunting. We’ve seen some beautiful homes (and some not-so-beautiful ones). However, we sat down a few weeks ago and decided to remove some of that stress from our lives. We can always move, but we do not need to hold the baby’s due date over our heads as a deadline. Does anyone else do that when they’re pregnant? Feel like ALL of your life decisions MUST be figured out before the baby comes? I have felt like that during all three of my pregnancies. Probably something to do with the anticipation mixed with a lot of restless energy.

So for now, I’ll keep an eye out for that perfect house in our budget, but we’ve gained a new respect for staying put, and making the most of what we’ve already been given. I really do love our house. I’m not crazy about the location, but the house itself has been very good to us. It also has a lot of potential I’ve been itching to expose. I’ve got my list of projects I would love to get started on, but for now, this baby’s nursery is taking priority.

I know you’re probably thinking by this time, I should be an expert on girl nurseries. And I might agree with that. You can click here to check out Logan’s Millennial Pink nursery from last year. I’m planning this one out a bit differently though. My thought for this baby’s nursery is to almost go gender-neutral with it. Mostly whites and woods, maybe a touch of soft pink here or there.

The Existing Space

This is the girls’ playroom that we will be using for the nursery. In the bottom-right picture of the two doors, the door on the left leads into our master bedroom, and the door on the right leads to the den. We’re obviously going to need to get rid of that tile floor (something that’s been on my punch list for years), and I will probably paint the wood paneling white. I’m contemplating leaving the wall with the large window unpainted.

This room gets tons of light which I love but unfortunately, can be a pain for a sleeping babe. We will need to account for that skylight as well as the huge window that takes up the whole one wall. Here’s what I’m thinking in terms of style:

My Inspiration

A Merry Mishap

I love the Scandinavian feel of this nursery above. I’m even contemplating that white floor. The room we’re putting this baby in is about this size too. We have an extra bedroom in our house but it’s currently being used as my office/storage. We talked about moving my office into this space and using the bedroom for the nursery, but I love how this room is attached to our master bedroom and I won’t have to walk throughout the house to get to the baby in the middle of the night.

This inspo pic, other than being adorable, is for my husband. He is a big Friday Night Lights Fan- so I’ll know if he read my post when he mentions something to me about that letter board. I’m just really liking the calmness of the color pallet in here- but notice how much texture they’ve incorporated through the rug, wicker, plants and lampshade.

I’m always drawn to a black-and-white pin-stripe. I’ve had this nursery pinned for a long time. I think it’s neutral and calming, while still being interesting.

My Initial Plans


  1. Baby Sleeping Door Sign 2. You Are Magic Print 3. Asterisk Ceiling Light- Project 62 4. White Roman Shade 5. Restoration Hardware Sheet Set 6. Crib 7. Area Rug- Lulu&Georgia 8. Wayfair Dresser/Changing Table

This mood board will surely see some changes over the next few weeks, but this is my starting point. I’m going to try my best to keep costs down, so we can do other things to our house. Plus, I really do have plenty of little girl things for this nursery. Buying another crib might be a tough sell for my hubs too. But I’ll keep you updated! In the mean time, what do you think?? More color? Too much color? If anyone has had a good experience with skylight shades, let me know! I haven’t even started looking into that yet. Sixteen weeks left